As you can see Ana has built a very popular and thriving online business.

However, what’s interesting about any success story is always HOW.

How did she do it?

How did she go from an online NOBODY to SOMEBODY that’s so important that thousands of people read her blog every week?

If you follow her blog and read more about her history you’ll probably agree that her story of leaving communist Russia to come to the US is just as interesting as any one of her blog posts.

You also may be surprised to find what motivates her most of all is her faith and family.

Enough of me lets get into my Q&A with the founder of Traffic Generation Café Ana Hoffman:

Darnell: This summer will mark the three year anniversary of TrafficGenerationCafe. How do you feel about where your blog is today versus what you expected back in 2010?

Ana:

When I started TGC, I had no idea where I was going with it or how it was going to turn out.

I was told to blog, so I blogged.

I was simply amazing to see the readers pouring in and reacting to what I had to say. Made me want to work that harder to deliver the best information I could.

As a result, Traffic Generation Café turned from a hobby into a business, growing and thriving in spite of me. lol

Darnell: Finish this sentence. The internet is my __________________.

Ana:

The internet is my way to relax. I blog to relax, to have fun, to get away.

Darnell: Your blog is ranked by Alexa as one of the the top 13,000 websites out of 640 million plus.

Which best describes how you reached this amazing accomplishment?:

A) I did 13,000 different things.

B) I did 13 things thousands of times.

Ana:

Rhetorical question in some ways, but the truth is a bit of both.

In the earlier days, it was more of the former. Lots of running around in different directions.

Wisdom comes with age and blogging wisdom is not different.

With time I learned which 20% of things I do yield 80% of the results. Now I am learning how to actually stick with those 20%.

Darnell: Fill in the blanks.

The number one thing I hate about being a “popular” blogger is: ________________

The number one thing I love is:________________

Ana:

The number one thing I hate about being a “popular” blogger is the fact that spotlight comes with criticism.

There is always someone who knows better how you should run things, or what to write about, or what color your sidebar should be.

Those people only multiply with popularity of a blog.

The number one thing I love is value.

We all need to feel that we matter, that we provide value and are valued in return.

Blogging does the trick for me.

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Here’s what I learned from Ana Hoffman the founder of Traffic Generation Café:

You are somebody. Even though people don’t know who you are or what you have to offer YET you are somebody important, that’s the good news. The bad news is ONLY YOU can discover this and share it with others.

Have faith. Understand that you never ever have been a nobody and you never will be. Even though no one reads your blog, yet. Your potential is simply a result of your faith. Just like attitude affects your altitude what you believe affects what you receive. Understand the fact that doubting yourself will surely get you nowhere only faith put to action will change things for you.

Be humble. Review your actions and keep a track of what’s working until you put together a system that works consistently. Remember what Ana said, you’ll get 80% of the results from 20% of the activities. Work smart not hard.

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Thanks for taking the time to do the interview Ana I really appreciate it.

-That’s something else I learned from her, when you get your blog on that LEVEL don’t be too Hollywood to talk to the up and coming bloggers like myself.

What's up! I'm Darnell the founder of Your Online Biz.
I believe "We come from absolute greatness. Accomplishing the extraordinary is the least that we should expect from ourselves."
In 2012 I launched TruckLicense.net which redefined how to get a CDL without expensive trucking school.
I also created the #IBCT - International Blogger Championship Tournament which features the top 64 blogs worldwide in a competitive comparative analysis.
When you support me you help #PayItForward as I contribute 10% of my online income to help children in need.

17 comments on “What I learned from Ana Hoffman – Q&A with the founder of Traffic Generation Café.”

Hi! I came across the “What I learned from…” series while I was checking out another post on freelance writing on your site. I’m absolutely loving this series. Thanks for the insights!Deirdre J. recently posted…Dream BIGGER for Success…

I have recently been searching through the Traffic Generation Cafe because I like the website so much. Now that I’ve seen an interview, it seems even better. Ana really knows what she is doing and I am a subscriber to her list.

I’ve read Anna Hoffman’s blog too, I think it’s been almost a year already since I was first introduced to her blog. I love her writings because it’s very powerful and her posts are truly helpful to many bloggers.

Nicely done, and you did what I try to do, that being asking questions that no one else has ever asked in a brand new way. I loved the interview and I loved Ana’s responses; kudos to both of you.Mitch Mitchell recently posted…Questioning Links In Comments(dofollow)